Where passion meets faith…In sha Allaah

Islam

I plead to go on like the long silence did not happen, hoping this meets you in the best conditions.

Confessions of a muslimah is an attempt to communicate the dying desire I share with so many muslim women who wish to be better in deen practice especially with the hijab. Sincerely, I know a hijab is more than the wrap around my head whose length, breadth and thickness have varied so much I get apprehensive.

It is a complete package attached to this title and is agreeable that it’s an all or nothing deal, but where do I place us the “in between lot”? Today we are here, tomorrow we are there being very flexible with the rules that govern us.

Allah SWT says in Quran 33:59
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”.

It used to be an admiration for certain things. We would easily stash out that “wanna be” phrase to someone trying so hard and today here we are, a whole lot of women really being “the ideal hijabi wanna be”.

I look at an ideal hijabi with such admiration because I can only imagine how Allah sees her in that. I always wonder how the journey started out for sisters who wear the hijab the way it’s supposed to be worn ideally and routinely.

I am convinced that the reflection of our fear for Allah would show in our limbs and outer appearances someway, somehow. Notwithstanding, we should remember that we belong to a faith that accepts our sincere little efforts and makes us better by Allah’s will so I would be glad to say someday sisters it would be that you and I would do it right, in sha Allah.

Quran 7:26
“O children of Adam, We have brought to you garments to cover your private parts, as well as for adornment, yet the garment of reverence is best. These are some of God’s signs, perhaps they will remember”.

Quran 24:31
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty, that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their father-in-laws, their sons, their step sons, their brothers, their bothers’ sons or their sisters’ sons, women of their kind or their servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you believers turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain bliss”.

POEM TITLE: CONFESSIONS OF A MUSLIMAH
Blessings on the ummah of Nabiyy
Elevating our ranks as mothers and wives
Lead me to what my heart seeks
A hijab to please His eyes

It’s not about trends no more
It’s not about scents
It’s all about doing it right
One hundred percent

These fashion adjuncts that tempt me
Plain and simple, O Allah help me be
It’s not in the price
With You Allah, jannah is the prize

I don’t want to show you my hair
Just walk on by, like I am not there
If I exist in Allah’s eyes
Then I am worth more than your stare

I want a veil over me
From my heart to toe
I need Your Mercy towards me
So that my hijab can grow

Confessions of a muslimah
If that will make me frail
I know it’s just a matter of time
With Allah I won’t fail.

What class is it to dress in skin?
The irony is like buying sin
When my worth many can’t foretell
My plea Allah, forbid me from hell

Confessions of a longing heart
In search of you, one day at a time
Coat me O cover of purity
Replace for me now what covers my being

If you are reading this, then you are blessed with what a majority of people cannot boast of. First, you have a gadget compatible with the interactions of this century (the blessing of owning a gadget is a test), you have time to be on a social network (blessing of time is a test), and most likely you are feeling well and blessed with the gift of sight and articulate fingers (health is a test). Above all, you are blessed with knowledge and faith to have read this far (the tests of all tests).

On the other extreme of the reality spectrum it may be yet another prayer said, same desire, same Lord and for the umpteenth time with the maximum ever desperation. How on earth can this be happening to someone, must be that ‘one in a million’ unfortunate person alive right? Wrong.

Striking out the times of distress and depression what are we left with? Comfort, smiles, luxury, elation, success, friendship, serenity, pleasure…? It’s easy to say we are going through a test when afflicted with sickness, infertility, loneliness, poverty, heartbreak and a bunch of negative things. What happened to the good things in life? Is a man not tested by his wealth, knowledge, progeny and power?

How can our reckoning be the same when our gratitude for living has differed?

Surah Al-Nahl: 53
“And Allah has brought you from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you may give thanks”.

We subconsciously have come to settle with these good provisions as our rights rather than things given to us by Allah to test us too. If it remains so then it would be that we are in a constant state of tests, either with sustenance or restrictions. If we are sick, we pray and say may Allah make it a means of expiation of our sins and when we get healthy what do we do? We fall back in transgression, hardly remain muslims and thankful to Allah. Same applies to wealth.

The Prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray:
“O Allah! I seek Your refuge from the evils of the fitnah of wealth, and the evils of the fitnah of poverty”
Reported by Al-Bukhari (11/176) and Muslim (#2078)

Surah Fajr: 15-16
“And as for man, whenever his Lord tries him by honoring him and makes him lead an easy life, he says: ‘my Lord honors me’. But when He tries him by straitening his means of subsistence, he says: ‘my Lord has disgraced me”.

Surah Al-An’am: 165
“…and He raised some of you above others by degrees to try you in what He has given you…”

Look at it as having pearls and stones. If Alhamdulillah would be said for every bit of fresh air, family and friends, good food and water, available resources for healthcare and recreation, for every second of life, subhanAllah! Then where is the shame in us to let us utter otherwise? Is it not that Allah feeds you morning and night and of the hours in between for a reason? What do you do with the blessing of food before the energy is exhausted? These are the tests on us, not only should tears flow when we demand but it should flow the most because His bounties we can’t exhaust.

POEM TITLE: THE TESTS WE FORGET
When our hearts break
We forget the years of love
Focus on the pain
And sidetrack from the gain
We forget the lessons learned
Choose to dwell on just the hurt
If despair is a test
What makes elation any less?

What should the blind do?
When the seeing cry over inflamed eyes
What happened to patience when denied?
And gratitude when given
Or is it our right to sleep and rise
When hardly our blessings we recognize
Lord distract our focus from dismay
To better times when we made hay

These ranks He placed us on
Do you think it is for fun?
For us to be blessed
And someone distressed
Our comfort then remains as a test
To elevate or depress our stations
Let the reminders be said, because we forget
Just maybe to the east more of us would prostrate

We want sons and daughters
But how have we fared as heirs
Misplaced our places
Or taking up our roles as blessings
O man don’t be impractical
This life is so delusional
Who then is heaven made for
If we deny Allah’s favors

When half the world craves
For less than half of our days
Still we dwell in crippling misery
Could we then say we are at war with destiny?
If so then where does our faith reach?
To make us cry like fools or stand firm and preach
Why do we let pain linger
And watch happiness just slip?

Do not miss the beauty of the rose because of its thorns
We want the warmth from the sun but sleep as it rises
Do we then deserve that it nurtures our beds with roses?
Give gratitude, O sons of Adam
Don’t choose the days to smile
It’s the chapters in a book that make the story
Not just the title or an appealing cover
Or have you seen a bestseller with no thriller?

One moment of deprivation
And we run our mouths in question
But would we ever ask why we live while others die?
Oh the tales of sweet and sour
Complains about the forecast
While others breathe their last
How can we see the rain bow?
When we groan about the storm

So have we whined for nothing?
And gave no gratitude for everything
It would be a shame to say we misplaced priorities
Let’s upgrade our state of mind
Count the pearls before the stones
Give gratitude before we grumble
O Allah remind us to remember
That the tests we forget are the blessings that make us

All praise is due to Allah who guides us to realize what is best for us in this life and in the hereafter. It is not long after now that we would be questioned about how we lived each second of our lives. Subhanallah, how do we defend ourselves? How much of our actions do we do for the sake of Allah? We may have found a way around to justify our activities but really, we never know for sure how much we have done and if it has been accepted or not. No detail is left; the little things we disregard could be the cause of eternal fall or a saving grace.

“On the Day when every soul will find itself confronted with all that it has done of good and all that it has done of evil (every soul) will long that there might be a mighty space of distance between it and that evil.”
Surah Al-i-Imran :30

It is befitting to realize at the end of the day that your salats count to five, probably with some nafilahs too, charity given here and there, you smiled all day because it is sunnah, no quarrels and you did lower your gaze, ma sha Allah. You have read some Quran and tahajjud prayer is your intent for tonight. Great day I must say, and if you were to pick a night to die you would pick one of such because you had a great start and a reward seeking afternoon, Jannah here you come, right?

Guilt trip, sometimes we may feel we could reward ourselves after pretty much being good, and that little voice in our head would assure us that the deed is really little compared to the lots we have done. Is there a chance that this is a case of audaciousness? For really, we do not know how we will fare in the hereafter and thus have we taken account of ourselves before we stand on the day when no modalities can be made?

Ibn Awn said, ‘Do not feel secure because of a great number of deeds for you do not know if they have been accepted or not. Do not feel secure about your sins for you do not know if they have been expiated or not. This is because all your deeds are unseen to you and you have no idea what Allah will do with them’.

Allah says:
“Do they consider themselves secure from the retribution of God? No one can have such attitude except those who are lost”
Surah Al-Araf:99

What then gives us security on a day when we will face our Lord after being “muslims” but yet remain in the agony of what we have earned? Have we ended up in transgression knowingly or unknowingly? This is enough to make man think and just the thought of not knowing makes every second more vital, only Allah can save us.

I was flipping through a book called The Journey to Allah by Hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and I came across a Hadith which is my inspiration for this post.

Ibn Majah (4245) narrated from Thawbaan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: “I certainly know of people of my ummah who will come on the day of resurrection with good deeds like the mountains of Tihaamah, but Allah will make them scattered dust”. Thawbaan said: O messenger of Allah describe them to us and tell us more, so that we will not become of them unknowingly. He said: “They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but when they are alone transgress the sacred limits of Allah”. (Sahih Hadeeth).

Flashbacks of alone moments came by, have I isolated myself thinking I found peace but have wasted my time earning sins? It could be that soap opera I follow all year, or the music plugged to my ears as the lyrics touch my heart. It could be how when I am alone, I combine my prayers because I don’t pray on time but when with my friends I am the first to perform wudu. It could be an indulgence small in my eyes but terrible in the sight of Allah.

In the same chapter, he classified the types of actions that will be as scattered dust into seven, as:

1. One having deeds which he hopes. good but they end up scattered dust and are altered to evil deeds. Allah, Exalted said:
Surah Nur: 39- “As for those who disbelieve their deeds are as a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one sees it to be water till he comes to it and finds it naught, and finds, in the place thereof, Allah Who will pay him his due; and Allah is swift in reckoning”

2. Close to the above: a servant commits an evil deed to which he pays no regard, thinking it insignificant, and that sin will be the cause of his perdition.
Allah,Exalted said:
Surah Nur: 15”…you counted it a trifle but in the sight of Allah is very great”

3. Worse than the previous case: one to whom the evil of his conduct seems pleasing. Allah, Exalted said:
Khaf: 103-104 “Say: Shall We not inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works? Those whose efforts go astray in life of the world, and yet they reckon they do good work”

4. Sufyan al-Thawri would say upon hearing this verse ‘Woe to the people of ostentation’. The footnote under this is quite lengthy and it is on the hadith about the first to be hurled into the fire: the scholar, the one who gave charity, and the mujahid –all because of an action not done for the sake of Allah (Muslim #1905/14923 on the authority of Abu Hurayrah…)

5. The one who has worked righteous deeds but has also wronged others and he thinks that his deeds will save him , so there confronts him that which he was not expecting. All of his deeds are aporportioned amongst those who he wronged, then some wrong still remains to be requited, and so their evil deeds are piled onto his and as a result he is hurled into the fire.

6. His account could be scrutinized at which it will be asked of him to show how he was grateful for the blessings granted him. The least would be balanced against his deeds and outweigh them with the remaining blessings yet to be weighed! This is why the Prophet peace be upon him said, ”Whoever’s account is scrutinized will be punished”, or, will be destroyed.

7. He could have evil deeds that destroy some of his deeds or the deeds of his limbs, save Tawhid, as a result of which he will enter the Fire.

How can one relax knowing that as long as life is granted, it is humanly possible to render all the good worked for as null or evil? We may hide from the eyes of people and do as we please but certainly Allah watches all we do. Indeed it is frightful to imagine that after all the years of ibadah and struggle; we spoil it with a sin that falls into one of the above. O Allah help us to constantly worship You with sincerity in public and in isolation, put the love of what You love in our hearts, if we don’t do it to please You and You alone, then take it away from us and us away from it. Ameen.

POEM TITLE: MOUNTAINS TO DUST
Mountains to dust
Truly with time man is in loss
Is it in peace and laughter we would be?
When this news has come to us
Of how our everything could beget nothing
And our security is our faith’s sincerity
We ignore the heart, and employ our limbs
When our practice is tainted
By the soul of our deeds, the intent
What do our hearts hold?
Earth’s opulence or do we cherish heaven’s words
O mankind how do we then sleep
When the fear of the unknown hunts our known goods
Heavy on our backs but light on the scale
O Allah don’t turn our mountains to dust

Mountains to dust
Truly with time man is in loss
On that day when limbs will talk
What if their confessions
Turn our platinum to sand
What if someone takes away all we have earned?
We have prayed in congregations
Said ameen in harmonization
But when alone how do we respond to the call
Who are we behind closed doors, within thick walls?
Do we present Islam as it is, and ever was?
Are we the same before paupers and kings?
Or do the rules change when the influential reigns
Whose honors do we request, men or God’s?
O Allah don’t turn our mountains to dust

Mountains to dust
Truly with time man is in loss
Have we mistaken yet remained in ideal composure?
When we have been told of a Doom’s Day to come
Yet we still engage in idle talk
No verses do we speak, chasing shadows of celebrities
Are we building or severing our prospects for Jannah
From the depths of our guts to the tentacles of lust
Have we been soldiers against, or slaves to our Nafs
And how have we fared in alliance and kinship
Have we differed as we please?
Deserting our true creed?
No matter too little, all words, all acts
May we purify before our ends defy
O Allah don’t turn our mountains to dust

Mountains to dust
Truly with time man is in loss
Five times a day, we wash to prostrate
What have we lived to gain
If we toiled to have it all blown away
O Allah, lead us to shelter our premium deeds
And to secure the endorsements of our worship
Separate our hearts from triviality
And make Your remembrance our precedence
Forgive us for we know not what we have sent forth
Guide us to places that lead us to Your pleasure
Seal our thoughts and gazes from earning Your wrath
Help us meet You with gems and be pleased with us
Truly with time we are in loss
O Allah, don’t turn our mountains to dust

What if it mattered most to us that we looked beautiful in The Eyes of Allah than we did before anyone else? It would mean that we would work more on our salah, charity, manners and total obedience to Him. It would also be that we would have to find out what He considers as beautiful and then work towards achieving them.

While we cleanse our skin we should not forget to cleanse our hearts too, while we run to make an appointment, our salats must not be delayed and for love, while we say the words ‘I Love you’, we should say them to Him who shows us most love first.

We fall for people we view as beautiful in our eyes, get to know them, what they like and then we put in conscious efforts to adapt to what they admire, simply because we love them, would want to have our love reciprocated and because we want to keep them. It’s not so different with our Allah and naturally we can beautify ourselves to attract Allah’s love towards us.

A little humour in the love department; From a scrap in my mental diary I found these familiar ‘things we do for love’ moments:

So there is this dude
That caught my attention
Looked posh, not rude
And had a good profession
First chat and I drooled
There was a certain connection
I found me in a constant glee mood
Often he’ll set my heart in palpitation
Date nights felt good
Seemed like true love from Inception
To please him, did all I could
My routine I put under regulation
Strong words I wrote, he understood
And that was a secret revelation
My style changed, adjusted the indigenous hood
In his eyes, I liked my reflection

I’m not afraid to walk
Because he mentioned in his talk
How red stilettos steal his attention
And to keep him is my sole intention
So I shopped for them, red heels and a companion dress
I like this lad and I am all out to impress

Familiar scenarios here and there which are mostly vain and what if some of that effort is diverted towards polishing ourselves for Allah. As we desire to look good for our loved ones, we should aspire to be beautiful before Allah too.

Spending more time in meditation and submission, more smiles and salams to strangers, less fights, persistently practicing a sunnah and so on. Haven’t we upgraded a lot for friendship, partnership, marriage and other relationships? Sometimes we are disappointed and all that perfection that eluded us fades. It would be absolutely very rewarding to upgrade our character and lifestyles for Allah.

A lot of us would agree that we have felt insecure due to imperfections in our physical looks and otherwise, wondering if we are good enough for someone and vice versa. The comfort is with Allah, our beauty never fades because we are older or fatter. The heart that remembers Him, is ever beautiful. What good is it to have spotless skin but a heart with so much spots of sin?

I have been a part of conversations going “…is he tall? How fair is she? Skinny, fat…? Nah, I don’t do geek, not my type”. Well it all does not matter with Allah, and you can be beautiful to Him without surgery, makeup or class.

On the day of qiyamah when Allah rewards His servants with “standards” of paradise just as they deserve would it not be wonderful to be among those in the highest of all? We all pray for aljanatul firdaus and our Lord is capable, Ya Allah bless us with characters deserving Your best, for You see beyond what man sees as beautiful. Ameen.

If someone obeys and tries to reach Allah SWT, Allah calls Angel Jibreel and says “O Jibreel bear witness I love so and so (Allah calls that person with beautiful names), so love him”. Then angel Jibreel announces it to the kingdom of angels and they all start to love that person. After that Allah puts the love of that person in the hearts of others on earth.

POEM TITILE: MEETING HIS STANDARD OF BEAUTY

To Him it’s not my face
And how I look in the morning
Full lips, long lashes all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how I keep on prostrating

To Him it’s not my skin
And how much lighter I’m becoming
Ebony or ivory all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much modesty I am guarding

To Him it’s not my weight
And what size of dresses I am wearing
XL or S all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much hijab I am observing

To Him, it’s not my voice
And how the lullabies would be sounding
Treble or bass all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much Quran I am reciting

To Him, it’s not my hair
And how much trend I keep on rocking
Brazilian or hump all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much strand I am veiling

To Him it’s not my wealth
And how much comfort I am buying
Mansions or wheels all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much on charity I am spending

To Him it’s not the number of my friends
And how my clique gets heads turning
Bold or beautiful all don’t matter in His eyes
Beauty to Him is how much deen I am presenting

To Him it’s not the prefix by my name
And how much expertise I am perfecting
Amateur or genius all don’t matter in His Eyes
Beauty to Him is how much knowledge I am sharing

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barkatuh. Thank you for visiting my blog. I apologise for not posting Renaissance of love (The sunnah) as promised.

Life…roller coaster, game of golf, temple run, we all have our experiences and life may treat us differently. Good days, bad days and the in between, Alhamdulillah for all. Who are we to complain for God’s sake when we have access to the internet among other things, what a luxury, Alhamdulillah.

A few weeks before the blessed month of Ramadhan I found myself packing a bag (not a pink one this time) and not for fun too, it contained biscuits, water and drugs. I had barely opened my eyes well when a phone call woke me up earlier than usual. The problem was not the phone call, my mother would do that very often . I panicked that she was not singing ‘good morning darling’ in all the languages she could but all she asked for was company to the hospital. I knew she had a sugar problem and by Allah I could not handle the few minutes out to the hospital.

The reality is people die randomly, we are all afraid to wake up someday without someone dear to us, only Allah knows what one goes through day and night remembering a lost one. Our comfort as muslims is the fact that everything Allah does in our lives is to be embraced as His will and we know someday in a time to come by the Grace of Allah we will reunite again. The thought gave me some comfort but only for some time.

Meanwhile at the hospital I seemed on my feet and strong but deep inside it was an uncomfortable beat my heart had adapted. How can I let her see my tears when I have to be strong now? I should be praying and thanking Allah we could afford to go to a hospital anyway, I have seen worse cases to be sincere so again Alhamdulillah for sustenance. That was good for the moment as it diverted my fears and I reminded myself to give thanks at all times for it could have been otherwise.

It was not an emergency really, but of course out of fear we could exaggerate a mild headache to seem like a hemorrhagic stroke and you know how patients love attention too, yeah, so my mother had her turn that day.

While we waited for full recovery, at night I would wake up and watch her trunk move as she breathed. I would check her pulse and feel for the warmth on her feet. I was afraid of death obviously but could not help to remind myself that it would come, if not today then someday unknown.

My thoughts extended beyond death, to the life in the grave and to the day of resurrection. Before the comfort of getting into paradise with your righteous family, friends and other servants of Allah, the terrifying events must occur. I served her all through that time, running to and fro hoping to comfort her, but in as much as I love this woman before me a day would come when I would see her but run away from her…subhanallah. But could it also be that I would not run from her?

On the Day a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children. Everyman, that Day, will have enough to make him careless of others.
(‘Abasa 80:34-37)

O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. On the Day you see every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe. (Al-Hajj
22:1-2)

And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Approaching Day, when hearts are at the throats, filled [with distress]. For the wrongdoers there will be no devoted friend and no intercessor [who is] obeyed. (Ghaafir 40:18)

May Allah make us pious people who would help each other through the life of this world and the hereafter. Imagine the joy of seeing your loved ones again, those you had lost long time ago. Those you used to pray with, remember Allah with, try to overcome societal and peer pressure with as regards keeping up to the expectations as good muslims. Do not relent in striving to be pious. It would indeed be worth it in the end, in sha Allah. Allah’s promise is true.

Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous. [Quran 43:67]

POEM TITLE: DILEMMA (I LOVE YOU BUT…)
I tried to answer your every call
Attempted to catch your every fall
There is the promise of parting from you in this world
Someday, somehow, this is true in His word
Just the thoughts and gloom on my face parades
A wish to see you again, a wish for a second to be spared
Alas, the day comes and there my love I see you
My dilemma will be to run away from you

We met at random
Shared kind words of wisdom
Members of the same congregation
At some point in some places too much to mention
As friendship bonds or family ties attachments
Some in moments, others in lifetime engagements
I lost you, your soul left and mine to follow
I love you, but no one is promised tomorrow
O life and death, this duo through time has remained true
To live and die and live again as bright or blue
A reunion to wait for yet a day of fear awaits us
It is true to come, by command and not a coin to toss
One day, a moment within an hour
Terrified of the trumpet, haven’t even outgrown the thunder
When the earth will crumble
My imaginations make my guts rumble
And here are the thoughts of seeing you again
O my broken heart, you had left me to yearn
If only for love, if only because I love you
But soon a day comes when my love is not enough
Too distressed to care
O these thoughts I can’t bear
Ya Allah guide us for surely the time is so near
Make our race towards You together
Reuniting us in love forever

I tried to answer your every call
Attempted to catch your every fall
There is the promise of parting from you in this world
Someday, somehow, this is true in His word
Just the thoughts and gloom on my face parades
A wish to see you again, a wish for a second to be spared
Alas, the day comes and there my love I see you
My dilemma will be to run away from you

These are my words to you if I ever said I love you
To the friends from childhood and gems that I found anew
To the parents and lineage and the blood and flesh crew
To the people with whom I share this path with
And when I rise covered in fear and dust
I pray to Allah that I run towards Him and not gaze in loss
Not alone but with the ones I shared His love with
I love you, I pray to run with you.

OUR HOPE
Love for the sake of Allah so that on the day when others run away from each other we will seek to find our hands and run to safety together. I love you all for the sake of Allah. Salaam.

Peace be upon you all. 🙂
I pray to Allah you are in the best of conditions in sha Allah.

The love for Muhammad SAW is a boost for Allah’s love for us. The question is do we love him enough?

It is reported that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said, “None of you truly believe until I have become more beloved to him than his father, his children and all of humankind.”

This love develops sincerity in our efforts to follow him (PBUH), lubricates the application of his teachings in our daily lives, and enables us to remain steadfast in walking on his path under the Prophetic banner and leadership as Allah’s chosen one.

It is quite humanly impossible for an individual to bring about a total transformation of an entire community, bringing change and introducing to them a new way of life as long as the members of that community do not feel a sense of love and respect for the one leading this change, as well as selfless willingness to accept his way of life as a blue print for their salvation and eternal peace.

Wealth and power in our days today may gain one followers and entourage but only for a while if at all. Our prophet (PBUH) had no wealth of that sort, it is only a superior level of good character and refinement of the soul, as that possessed by him (PBUH), which made it possible for him by the will of Allah to attain such prestigious position among humanity till date and forever is the case.

We know the value of Muhammad SAW to us, we know his position in our creed and worship, we know that our love for him is part and parcel of our belief therefore we should follow his ways regardless and love him dearer than all we possess.

No one on the soils of this life is like Muhammad SAW. We should protect his name, praise him, copy him and fight for his cause the way he has taught us to. We pray to Allah to help us in this and never should our love for Muhammad SAW be compromised for anything.

His Companions used to say to him, “We do not say to you what the people of Mūsā said to Mūsā: ‘Go, you and your Lord and fight. We are here leading [the way]. We fight on your right, on your left, in front of you, and behind you.”

Examples of the Love of the Companions for Messenger of God (PBUH) in the Sīra

It is reported that in the battle of Uḥud, when attacking the Prophet (PBUH) the enemy forced him to fall into a ditch and his life was then endangered. There was no way to save him from this situation except through forming a wall of human bodies around the ditch. The Companions competed with each other to do this. They stood around the ditch and exposed themselves to the arrows of the enemy who sought to destroy this human fortress while another group extracted the Prophet (PBUH). As a result, they were unable to cause any further harm to the Prophet (PBUH). As the bodies of this human fortress would fall one after another, new men would rush to replace them. May God’s mercy be upon all of them who taught us the true essence of loyalty and love for the Messenger (PBUH) through their actions.

Similarly, it is reported that a woman from the Anṣār came out after hearing that her father, brother, and husband had been slain on the Day of Uḥud. She said, “What has happened to the Messenger of God?” They said, “[He is] well. Thanks be to God, he is as you would like him [to be].” She said, “Show him to me so that I may look at him.” After seeing him she said, “Every calamity after your [safety] is insignificant.”

When the pagans took Zayd b. Dathna (RA) out to execute him after he had been one of their prisoners, Abū Sufyān b. Ḥarb (he was still a pagan at this time) said, “I summon you by God O Zayd. Would you prefer that Muḥammad was in your place today so that we execute him [instead] while you are with your family, safe from getting killed?” Zayd said to him, “By God, I would not wish for the Prophet to get pricked with a thorn in the place that he currently is [in exchange] for me to be sitting with my family.” Abū Sufyān said, “By God, I did not see anybody who loves another person the way the Companions of Muḥammad love Muḥammad.”
(Islamcity forum)

POEMS
****************
O Allah don’t judge my broken words
I do this all for love
Thinking of a man I adore
A man who has loved me more
I try to follow but i fall short
I recall his story, these tears they fall
Forgive me for my words are not enough
O Allah don’t judge my broken words
I pray for Muhammad, the man I love.

***************

I loved this piece by Novid Shaid

Oh Lord
Send Your peace and blessings and infinitum
Upon Our Master Muhammad SAW
Whose face glows like the full moon
Whose smile dispels anguish and gloom
With locks like strands of silk Woven from a heavenly loom
With eyes penetrating, and radiating certitude
With perspiration of the rarest perfumes
With tears brimming with love and gratitude
The one who smiled in the face of ridicule
The one who endured the curses of withering fools
The one whose face softened when he met orphans, children, the poor and the bereft
The one who gave to those who withheld
The one who served others before himself
Who stood in prayer until his ankles swelled
Who implored his Lord, deep in the night, while others slept
The final one to receive the Word through Jibril
The only one who humbled the might of Azrael
Flag-bearer of Musa, Isa and Ibrahim
Restorer of the light of Hajar and Ismail
And the moon split asunder at his behest
And the sun turned back at his request,
And the spider’s web and the dove that built its nest
And heartbroken palm tree and the Jinn who were his guests
Chosen above the whole universe
shown the light of God without hinderance
Promoted above the multitude of mankind
The Prophets, the saints and the divines
The supreme intercessor at the end of time,
Humbled by the pure presence of his Lord
Sobered by the lights of Oneness of his Lord.
And his children, the diamonds of his heart
The first to meet him in jannah, beloved Fatimah
And his blessed parents, Abdullah and Aminah
And his cloak he spread for gentle Halimah
And his wives, sweethearts and counterparts
With the youth of Aisha and the wisdom of Khadijah
And his companions of devotion and humbled glance
In Badr, Uhud and Khandaq, their faith enhanced
The Prophet, so longing for the sweetness of Ramadan
For the taste of Zamzam and the echoes of Quran
For the coolness of his eyes in dua
For the choruses of the angels from afar
The true servant of Ar Rahman
The splendour of Allah
The wonder of Allah
The navigator to Allah
The liberator from Allah
The final messenger of Allah
The one who follows him
follows Allah
The one who spurns him spurns Allah.
Our Nabi, the priceless key
The boundless sea
The pinnacle of mercy
The mirror of Divine decree
The Arabian, uniting the tribes and races of humanity

***********
Bless our Nabi Ya Allah
In numbers our minds can never count
And values our worth can never amount
In the numbers of Your creation that ever was
Richer than any poems would ever say
Deeper than the words in prostrations we pray
Sanctified in purity like fresh morning dew
All over again make his blessings brand new
Greater than our words
Larger than our thoughts
Surpassing our mortality
Embracing the realm of Your divinity
Bless the one who is never gone from us
Whose path remains our shore of comfort
To his name we chorus sallallahu alaihi wa salam
Even at death he outweighs all alive in worth
The echo of his life louder than all said and done.
Proudly we rise and praise Allah
The largest ummah, greatest victory of all.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuh. Well into the blessed month of ramadhan, may Allah shower His endless mercies on us all ameen.

Thank you for visiting this blog dear readers. Unearthing4deen is an islamic space created out of passion for writing and love for Islam. What better way to put my writing than for the sake of Allah? If you are here for the first time, each article takes its title along with a poem usually at the end of the page.

I used to think the word ummah refers to the muslim community only until recently a brother pointed out that the whole of mankind was the ummah initially.

As a theological concept, the ummah is supposed to transcend race, ethnicity, nationality and class. Moreover, it is believed that all of humanity was at one time ummah, a united group, until they fell into division and disobedience.

Thus, the mere fact that multiple religions exist is considered by some to be a sign of human sinfulness because it is a consequence of disobedience and selfishness.

“Mankind was but one ummah, but differed (later). Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from thy Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.” (10:19)

There are other places in the Qur’an where Allah speaks specifically about this ummah (meaning the ummah of Muhammad, upon whom be peace). Allah has given this Ummah a special, honored position to be inheritors of the earth, and with that position comes responsibility.

“If Allah so willed, He could make you all one Ummah: but He leaves straying whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases: but you shall certainly be called to account for all your actions”. (16:93)

THE PROPHET’S LOVE FOR THE UMMAH

“(The Prophet peace and blessings be upon him) is greatly grieved at your loss and extremely anxious for your good. For the believers he is full of kindness and rahmah (mercy, love)”. (9:128)

The Prophet’s love was not limited just to the believers. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“We have not sent you (O Prophet Peace and blessings be upon Him) but as rahmah to all the worlds.” (21:107)

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-’As relates that the Prophet once recited the saying of Allah ‘azza wa jal regarding [the dua of] Ibrahim, “My Lord! They have misguided many of mankind. If anyone follows me, he is with me; but if anyone disobeys me, You are Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful,” as well as the saying of ‘Isa ‘alaihis salaam, “If You punish them, they are Your slaves. If you forgive them, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.” He then raised his hands and implored, “O Allah! My Ummah, my Ummah!” And he cried.

Allah ‘azza wa jal then said, “O Jibreel, go to Muhammad – and your Lord is most knowledgeable [regarding all this] – and ask him, ‘What causes you to weep?‘” So Jibreel ‘alaihis salaam came to him and asked him. The Messenger of Allah then informed him of what he had said – while he already was aware of that. Allah then said, “O Jibreel, go to Muhammad and tell him, ‘Indeed, We will please you regarding your Ummah, and We will not cause you to grieve.” (Sahih Muslim)

This hadith is in conformity with the saying of Allah ‘azza wa jal in surah Duha, “And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased.”

On the day of Qiyamah, what is it that would please us? If we were to be saved from its unspeakable terror and be granted Jannah, that would be enough to make us fulfilled. We would not even think, let alone care for anything else.

Subhanallah the prophet’s SAW happiness and contentment lies not in him being granted safety, but rather in our salvation. His happiness is tied to ours. What would make him proud of us now is our unity and love for one another.

Such love would reflect in our prayers for each other knowing that our Nabi cared so much for us that our safety is his pleasure.

I found some heart touching pieces and would love to share. I however am not certain of the narrations, I put them here in good faith hoping to benefit anyone who reads. May Allah forgive me if I’m wrong and if anyone who reads it has contrary views upon its authenticity please let us know.

If you can recall the ta’if story, one will see evidence of his love. When he went there to preach islam, he was forced to leave the city humiliated, being stoned by street boys for 3 miles because the people wanted nothing to do with islam. He was running to save his life, and he didn’t even raise his hands in dua to destroy them.

He had fainted and even Utba, a great enemy of Islam, when seeing him in this condition, had tears in his eyes. His shoes had filled up with the blood dripping from his body. But when he awoke after fainting, he immediately raised his hands in supplication and prayed to Allah not to punish them because they didn’t know and to forgive them.

Even though the angels could have caused the mountains to crush the city in between and its people, the prophet SAW preferred not to have them destroyed because from their progeny might arise people who would be from his ummah, who would become muslim. Look at the conduct of our beloved prophet SAW. He neither cared for revenge, nor for himself. He only cared about his ummah.

He prayed:

“O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair?

So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased.

There is no power and no might except by You.”

On the day of judgement, the prophet SAW will be brought a chair on the order of Allah, to sit on by the angels. The prophet SAW would be concerned about his ummah lest it takes him into Jannah and his ummah gets left behind.

He will put a hand on it, so that Allah’s commandment is fulfilled. His hand will be on the chair, his feet on the floor, and his eyes on his ummah. This is a day when every prophet will be asking for themselves, too afraid to ask for anyone else, when every mother will forget her child and care only for herself, when every friend will forget their friend and wives will not care for husbands, the prophet s.a.w will be one person who will be asking Allah to save his ummah.

May Allah give us such love for each other the way the prophet SAW loved us.

On his death bed while his soul was taken out he cried “O Allah, how great is this sakaratul maut. Give me all these pains, don’t give it to my people.’

The body of Rasulullah became cold, his feet and chest did not move anymore..

His lips vibrated as if he wanted to say something, Ali took his ear close to Rasulullah.

‘Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanuku – take care of the saalat and take care the weak people among you.’

‘Ummatii, ummatii, ummatii?’ – ‘My people, my people, my people.’

And the life of the noble man ended.

He had us in mind even as he died, sad to say we are forgetting each other even while we are alive.

Let us wipe out borders and maps
Disregard the communal marks
Islam unites skin shades and tribes
Together in faith we face the tests

Syria cries, Somalia dies
We already are in the end of times
O Allah we may be in despair
But in Your promise our hearts long to fare

Afghanistan bows, Palestine bows
In la ilaha illallah we muslims vow
A faith to stand the test of time
They may shake us now, but in time will be fine

What are we thinking, them being miles away?
Did not Islam teach us for all we can pray?
Let us fall down and hold on in prostration
If Allah wills this could be our restoration

Our homes far away in fading colors
On lands in drought, we need Allah’s favors
As they clutch on triggers, we hold on Allah’s words
Our jihad is not just in fighting with swords

They may be breaking our chain
This massacre is insane
But we are praying for bridges
They would pray too if only they know what the walk on sirat is

What are we doing sleeping while a part of us is dying?
Wake up dear ummah in our prayers there is healing
If we can’t stand with them, we can stand for them
To stand on that day as one, today we must stand firm

What about the muslims of Burma
News hitting us with such mental trauma
Ruthless killing, so much intense hate
Enemies forget qiyam is the sure date

Flags of green, white green in despair
O Lord our father land is drowning in tears
Surely the help from our Lord will soon suffice
Unified we will be on the day of disgrace

They may kill our brothers but we live by Al-Muhyit, The life giver
They may starve our sisters but we feed by Ar-Razzaq, The Provider
They may hurt our daughters but we heal by Al-Muhyi, The Restorer
They may imprison our sons but we are free by Al-Wakil, The Trustee

If they have the army, we have Al-Muntaqim, The Avenger
If they own the media, we have Al-Basir, The All seeing
The enemies may be many but we are one by Al- Ahad, The One
They fight us and we fight by Al-Azeez, The Mighty

Let our unity set our mishaps ablaze
Ya Allah help us walk through this daunting maze
Drop the blankets and let the mats face the qiblah
Wake up, sacrifice a night for the ummah.